Madrid is home to everyone. Madrid is the one place on earth where you feel at home when you step off the plane. We say Madrid is yours because everyone wants a home they can call their own, and that’s Madrid: home to everyone, everyone’s home.
If you want to feel like you were born in Madrid, just come and live here. One thing Madrid does very well is make you feel like that. It’s a space for living, a place for shelter, a place where the roads take you somewhere, where you find shade in summer and light in winter.
Madrid is a cosmopolitan city nowadays. Many different cultures and many different ways of seeing the world. One thing hasn’t changed. In a city where tolerance is a way of life, you feel at home because nobody asks you “where are you from?” It’s a city with a buzz, the buzz of life. The rhythm of the city means life, the streets never seem to sleep and whatever you’re doing it’s never too late to do it.
Three of the most important art galleries in the world (El Prado, the Thyssen-Bournemisza and the Reina Sofia) are all in ten minutes walking distance of each other. The Paseo del Arte or Art Walk is a stroll around the best in the history of art.
The Museo del Prado has one of the most complete art collections in the world. Here you can see the works of great painters such as Velázquez, Goya and El Greco. In the Reina Sofia the main attraction is Picasso’s Guernica, and after that works by Miró, Kandinsky, Dalí, Tápies and Antonio López. At the Thyssen gallery, masterpieces from the European Gothic and Renaissance periods mix with works by Hopper, Bacon and Freud.
Everyone seems to want to be cooler than everyone else, to carry the flag of the new. Madrid has always striven to be at the forefront of new creative tendencies. Its fame for openness and tolerance has made it a place where musicians, designers, fashion designers, photographers and film directors can find ideas and inspiration. The result of this creative hothouse is that Madrid is now a place to be reckoned with on the international art circuit.
In Madrid you’re in the right place to find answers to questions. It’s difficult not to in a city where so many artists get together, where there’s so much creative life. Where the sight of some of the most famous works of art in the world forms part of your daily routine, where paintings that were once hidden are now proudly displayed.
We have a laid back attitude to timetables. Eating is a pleasure for us and we like to do it in our own time and after lunch conversations are something we love. If you’re new here, try our lifestyle, you might like it. Start off with breakfast at around eight in the morning. Don’t forget a coffee break about 11.00. An aperitif at one. Then lunch at three. A light snack at six in the evening and finally a light dinner. That’s the idea, but if you want to chop it and change it a bit, that’s fine. But whatever you do, don’t miss out on a siesta: that really is good for the soul. Some things we do might surprise you. When you go for dinner with friends, don’t look too surprised when everyone helps themselves to what’s on your plate. The payback is you can help yourself to what’s on theirs.
Tapas: the Dictionary of the Spanish Language defines tapas as “a small portion of food that is served to accompany a drink”. It’s a Spanish custom that’s become an international phenomenon. But tapas are more than just a snack. They are a way of enjoying life, of making friends. A tapas session is all about talking, mostly arguing heatedly about what delicious tapa you’re going to have next!
The basic idea of a good tapeo is similar to a pub crawl, you go from bar to restaurant to bar, trying and sampling what each place has to offer. Madrid is full of the best in tapeo. Don’t miss out on areas like La Latina and Conde Duque. There you can find everything from the most traditional type of tasca to modern designer tapas bars.
You must try some of this. The traditional cuisine of the city is a mixture of influences and styles. It retains traces of the Moorish occupation of the city, especially in the delicious almond based desserts. It’s based on simple but imaginatively prepared stews and soups, with dishes like the cocido, a stew served in three courses. A vital ingredient for a good cocido is the water, which must be from Madrid, regarded as the best in Spain. No city can get much more inland than Madrid, but it’s famous for excellent fish dishes like besugo a la madrilèna (roast bream), or the famous squid sandwiches that you can eat in bars near the Plaza Mayor.
Restaurants like La Bola, Botín, Lhardy, Lucio, Landó, are real eating experiences where you know you’re in the right place for food that never goes out of style. Remember that in almost any restaurant with a fixed daily menu you’re guaranteed delicious traditional cooking at almost bargain prices.
Madrid is regarded as having a night life that is like no other. Clubbing is a way of life here. For that matter, any other thing you can do at night has somewhere to do it here. Night life in Madrid is a mixture of all the latest tendencies: the most minimalist chill out zones, the wildest clubs, the most Gothic discos, the roughest bars, the craziest after hours, the most nostalgic dance halls. There are as many Madrids as there are lifestyles, as there are tastes. And if you can’t find what you like, try inventing it here, and nobody will mind, because everyone wants a home they can call their own, and that’s Madrid: home to everyone, everyone’s home.
On 7 May 1850, Queen Isabel II declared that something really ought to be done about a Teatro Real, and that it had to be done in six months time for the opening to coincide with her birthday. The architects for the project were Antonio López Aguado and Custodio Moreno, who were commissioned to design a building in the shape of an irregular hexagon. The circular shaped main facade would look out onto the Plaza de Oriente while the smaller facade faced the Plaza de Isabel II. Interior design was the job of some of the best artists of the period such as Lucar, Bravo and Tegeo. Nothing was too good for the Real, a large powder room where señoras could add finishing touches to their hair, a florist’s inside the building where people could buy bunches of blooms to throw to wildly feted divas. It had a confectioner’s, a café, a dance hall. Story has it that they forgot to put in a cloakroom and on the opening night the heating broke down. But that didn’t seem to matter on such an important occasion. On the opening night the theatre was packed with the creme de la creme of Madrid high society, a happy, unconcerned and noisy crowd. Donizetti’s opera La favorite was chosen for the first performance, it had been showing in Madrid since 1843 and was a guaranteed success. Then came O’Donnel’s Revolution of 1854, and the Teatro Real became the Cortes. 1888 was an important year for the theatre with the installation of electrical lighting throughout the building. Then Bizet’s Carmen had arrived at the Real. After a long period of decline it was closed in 1925. In 1966, 22 years of concerts began which finally concluded in 1988 with reconstruction work that would convert the Teatro Real into the Teatro de la Opera. In 1997 the opening night of the theatre as we know it today was celebrated.
After 37 years of parenthesis, the mythical circus returns to open its doors with “Charivari”. The 16 of March a space for lovers of the impossible thing, the new Price is inaugurated, whose facilities, of 17,000 square meters, also will lodge a Center of Documentation and a School of Circus. Gentlemen and ladies, ladies and horsemen, Ladies and gentlemen… the spectacle returns to Madrid. Address: it makes the rounds of atocha, 35 .mtro: lavapies and ambassadors. Hour ticket office: Ticket office of the Theater Circus Price. Tuesday to Saturday: of 11:30 to 14:00 h and 16:00 to 20:00 h. Sundays: of 11:30 to 14:00 h and 16:00 to 19:00 h. - Telephone Sale and Internet: 902 488 488 and www.entradas.com
“ Closer” Address : Calle Corredera Baja de San Pablo, 15 Teléfono :
91.523.90.27 Zona : Centro Accesos : Metro: Callao (Líneas 3 y 5) . Sesiones : X,J, 20:00 V,S, 19:30 V,S, 22:00 D, 19:00 .
“Cum Laude (Los Ulen)”. Address : Doctor Cortezo, 5 Telephone : 91.360.08.29
Municipality : Zona :Centro Meter: Tirso de Molina (Línea 1) Interpreters : Paco Tous, Maite Sandoval, Mari Paz Sayago, Rafael Erosa y Pepe Quero Price : de 15 a 24 € Pases : X,J,V, 20:30 S, 19:30, 22:00 D, 19:00
Too human, the last days of Nietzsche”. Interpreters: Alfonso Torregrosa, Elisenda Ribas, Rafael Martin, Goizalde Núñez and Eduardo Mac-Gregor, among other Price: from 11 to 15 €. Entrances in: www.telentrada.com You happen: M, X, J, V, S, 20:30 D, 19:00
Address : Principe, 25 Teléfono : 91.360.14.80 y 902.10.12.12 Zona : CentroMetro: Sevilla (Línea 2) ,Sol (Líneas 1, 2 y 3) .
“The Industralist” Interpreters: singers: Arantza Ezenarro, Hevila Cardeña, Elena Sancho, Gaizka Gurruchaga or Carlos Garci'a, among others. Actors: Guillermo Amaya, Daniel Muriel, Juan Antonio Lumbreras and Leopoldo Mateos, among others… Price: from 18 to 24 €. Entrances in: www.elcorteingles.es Happen: V, 18:00 S, 17:00 D, 12:30
Address : Barquillo, 24 Telephone : 91.521.02.12 and 902.26.27.26
Zone : Center Meter: Banco de España (Línea 2) ,Chueca (Línea 5)
”Filomena Marturano”. Interpreters: Concha Velasco, Héctor Colomé, Lucio Romero, Selica Torcal Price: from 16 to 30 €; X and D 1ª session, from 10 to 22 € Pases: X, J, V, S, D, 19:30 S, 22:30 D, 17:00. Address: Pza. Cebada, 2 Telephone: 91.365.28.35 and 902.22.16.22Zona: Center Meter: La Latin (Line 5)
“Idaho y Utah” Prize : 15 €, X, 7,50 €. Entrances in: www.servicaixa.es
You happen: M,X,J,V,S, 18:30 D, 17:30 Centro Dramático Nacional. Teatro María Guerrero
Direction : Tamayo y Baus, 4 Telephone : 91.532.01.10 E-mail : cdn@inaem.mcu.es
Zona :Center. Meter: Banco de España (Línea 2) ,Colón (Línea 4) .
The Goat or Who is Silvia? Interpret: Josep Maria Pou, Mercè Aràgena,Alex García y Juanma Lara Price: from 16 to 25 €. Entrances in: www.telentradas.com You happen: X, J, V, 20:30 S, 19:30 S, 22:30 D, 19:00 Direction: Calle del Marqués de Casa Riera, 2 Telephone: 91.532.44.37 and 902.22.16.22 Zone: Center Meter: Banco de España (Línea 2)
“Los mejores Sketches de Monty Pythón” 20 €; X y D (18:30 ), 15 €
Pases : X,J,V,S, 22:30 D, 18:30 D, 20:30
Address : Pez, 10 Telephone : 91.521.58.27 Zone : Center Meter: Noviciado (Líneas 2 y 10) ,Tribunal (Líneas 1 y 10)
“Mamma Mia” Price : de 25 a 65 €. Entrances en: www.topticketline.es
Happen : M,X,J, 20:30 V,S, 18:00 V,S, 22:00 D, 19:00 Address: Gran Via, 57 Telephone :
91.758.20.60 y 902.88.87.88 Zona : Centro .Metro: Callao (Líneas 3 y 5) ,Santo Domingo (Línea 2)
+34.914.119.192
+34.650.441.492
+34.620.832.048
Madrid is home to everyone. Madrid is the one place on earth where you feel at home when you step off the plane. We say Madrid is yours because everyone wants a home they can call their own, and that’s Madrid: home to everyone, everyone’s home.
If you want to feel like you were born in Madrid, just come and live here. One thing Madrid does very well is make you feel like that. It’s a space for living, a place for shelter, a place where the roads take you s...
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